Those Whom Lurk
by Bali Lali
Summary: Esme is the fierce, witty daughter of the rebellion's fifth captain. Marshall is the demonic son of the empire's current leader and captain of the royal guards. Both the others natural enemy, when forced together, the two find themselves dancing on a very dangerous line. But in a rebellion one wrong move, and it's more then a heart that could be left shattered. MarshallXOC


Prologue~

It was just past midnight when the sounds of a young infant baby shattered the silence which masked the building. Two figures could be seen in the destroyed, now occupied hospital room. Debris had been moved to block the door, preventing anything from entering, the thick curtains had been drawn over the single window and the lighting had been dulled, provoking the shadows to appear.

One of the figures was a woman, lying on a soft bed with her masses of ombré hair plummeting over the head of the tilted bed, mixed tears of pain, relief and joy crawling through her smoky grey eyes. She was incredibly pale, almost un-naturally, with full lips and long dark eyelashes. She wore a black gown that was torn from the knees, destroying the beautiful stitching, that hugged her chest nicely. She, unlike her partner was barefoot.

The other a man, noticeably tanner then his partner, was kneeling next to her, his incredible height left him level with her face, even whilst she was on the raised bed.

He had dark blue eyes that closely resembled stained glass and glossy black hair that was slicked back across his scalp. He wore the torn remains of a black and silver uniform, the symbol now faded and unidentifiable, his feet clad in heavy black boots and his gloves tattered. A long silver fencing sword dangled from his right hip covered in now-dried, black liquid

Bundled in his arms was the torn part of his wife's dress, and in the bundle was a small child.

Having been washed by her father, the small girl was gnawing on the dress. The mother smiles gently before the husband carefully passes her the bundle.

The young infant girl shared both her mother and father's features. Her skin was clear and lily white with a small birth mark on the left side of her chest, it reminded her mother of a six-sided star. She had long, thick eyelashes that framed eyes that where a mix of both her parents. They where cloudy, but a bright cerulean blue. But the single feature that slightly baffled them was the large locks of pure white hair that brushed her shoulders.

"What are we going to call her?" The man asked quietly, grinning from ear to ear. Upon seeing her mother, the girl lets go of the fabric, a line of dribble following before placing her hands on her mothers face.

"Esme..." The husband slid next to her, "I like Esme..." The wife gently nuzzles her face onto her daughter's, Esme replied by planting her head on her collarbone.

"Esme..." The husband repeated gently leaning in to kiss her scalp. "It suits her" As he leant away, the sudden sound of breaking glass caused both their heads to snap towards the sound whilst Esme looked at them in innocent confusion.

"Come on" Without moving his gaze from the barricaded door, he slowly grabbed his wife's arm and helped her off the bed. The only sound was the sound of his wife and daughter's heartbeats, one beating far faster then the other.

They both froze when they heard a slight tap against marble, obviously not from in the room, but rather from the hallway outside. His wife looked at him in fear and he gently placed a single finger to his lips, signalling for silence. Slowly but surely he picked her up, carrying her bridal style before looking at the light switch on the other side of the room.

For a moment, his eyes ignited, their usual dark colour changing to an electric baby blue. At this point of time, the slow taunting tap was getting louder and as it grew closer, the room became darker until the only light that came in was from hallway outside.

And then it was gone.

A head now blocked the light from outside and at the time, even Esme knew to be silent. No one dared to breathe, and after several seconds of silence, the head moved away.

But that didn't make the husband any calmer. With his eyes not leaving the window, he slowly edged his way across the room, towards the curtain covered window. He'd placed the curtains there so he knew of the cracked window behind it.

He looked at his wife for confirmation and she nods before clutching the baby to her chest, shielding it with her body before closing her eyes tight. With his eyes now the same electric blue they'd been moments ago, he threw his energy at the window before running straight at it.

As the energy collided with the curtain, the raw power burnt through and pushed the curtains back from the force, whilst the window completely shattered. As he threw himself through the window shards he could hear the sound of the debris being completely destroyed as it was torn through by the Emperial Soldiers.

His feet had barely touched the destroyed stone streets before he was running through the broken city, and towards the forest.

Towards the Rebel Country.

All he had to do was get his wife and daughter across the Cosmic River and they where safe.

Easier said then done.

As he reached the edge of the city, he was forced to a stop as two soldiers fell in front of him, the ground splintering beneath them. There identical eyes like small dots of electricity in the darkness of the near moonless night.

Still keeping a firm hold on his wife, he grinned, his previously straight white teeth now replaced with two rows of razor like teeth that perfectly interlocked.

"Didn't mummy ever tell you not to play with fire?"

The guards, both identical, looked at him in masked fear as he quickly slid his feet in a specific pattern before running straight between them. As he ran, the ground beneath his feet began to smoke, until his footprints where burning holes of fire in the ground.

Both guards held up their weapons of choice, one a sword, the other a poison tipped spear, but they knew that they where no match for the fifth class demon in front of them.

As he ran between them, he swiftly bent down and sprung up, jumping over them entirely. But as he landed, both guards screamed as the long area between where he previously stood and where he now stood, a sadistic smile lacing his lips, burst into black flames.

Quickly regaining his composure, the demon cleared his throat before turning back towards the forest and sprinting.

"Did they really deserve that?" The gentle voice of his wife made him stiffen slightly, but he didn't falter.

"They had the intention of killing the both of you"

She shuffled further into his chest, her expression grim at the thought of her daughter being killed in cold blood.

"So yes. They did deserve that"

As he ran, the trees around him seemed to wither completely, leaving a carpet of brown as they fell to the ground.

"Crap!"

He is forced to a halt once again, but this time he knew he couldn't burn his way out as the demoness materialised in front of them, two squadrons of soldiers by her side.

"Hellfire"

She coated her voice with venom as she spoke his family name. Unlike the uniformed men behind her; she wore a casual black blouse and long dress pants. Her hair flowed down her back, though small strands still framed her face and her scarlet red eyes contrasted greatly with her flawless blue skin.

He hated to admit that long ago, he had once been just as love struck and hypnotised by her as the many others that worked in the Kingdom's castle. That was until he met Kylee by pure accident, until he found real beauty, and realised how sick and twisted his Queen's mind truly was.

"Abadeer" He spoke with just as much venom in his voice as she did, but he was far more fearful then she, and he knew it.

"Now, Now,we can keep this...civil" She placed a hand on her narrow hip and gestured towards him. "Give us your child" She gestured to the forest behind her. "And we shall give you the opportunity to attempt an escape"

It was Kylee who spoke first. She was chuckling darkly and had Esme pulled closely to her chest. Placing a hand on her husband's chest, she slowly stepped onto her feet.

"Give up my little baby?"

The hair that had been covering her face fell away.

"Why that's out of the question"

Even without the moonlight, her dark hair, snow pale skin and now ablaze violet eyes made her look nothing less of terrifying. "Now if you don't mind. I would like to take my child home" And in a flash of violet produced from her eyes, she was jumping across, from tree trunk to tree trunk until she was directly behind the two squadrons.

"Thank you for your understanding" And then she was off.

"After her!" Lady Abadeer didn't break eye-contact with Hellfire for a second. "I will join you shortly" Hellfire growled as the squadron ran after her, but he knew that his wife was more then capable of defending herself and the baby from the soldiers.

But he wasn't so sure about the other demon. He just had to keep her there for a few more minutes.

"I truly don't understand you Nathaniel" They slowly began to circle each other, neither daring to blink or break eye contact.

"How so?"

She knew that he was trying to stall her, but the problem was she couldn't risk running from him unless she had a head start. She wouldn't be able to materialise herself for another couple of minutes, but for the moment, she had the advantage due to his lack of such knowledge.

She let out a soft chuckle, "I offer you any woman in my court, widowed, single, dating, married" Her eyes seemingly darken and the man's eyes fleck with a lighter shade. "And yet you decide to fall in love with the woman whom is lower then even our servants" He growled, the sound echoing in the empty trunks around them and the demoness's eyes flicker to his hands.

They where completely covered in black scales which darkened at his fingertips, white claws replaced his fingernails and as he grinned, she caught a glimpse at the sharp canines that lined his mouth.

"Scared now are we? Your highness?" Mockery was prominent in his tone and her temper flared dangerously. She smiled at him and he could feel the bile in his throat as the cat-like slits of her eyes thinned.

"Never" Her voice was barely a whisper as she snapped her wrists, long, needle like claws springing from her nails in the process.

And then they both charged.

Further out in the forest, far closer to the river, Kylee was now in a vicious battle with the remaining troops. She'd killed 36 of the 40 soldiers, the remaining soldiers had surrounded her, their weapons slowly growing closer to her. She'd held the bundle of her dress tightly, her daughter having not been in danger for the hours she'd been fighting.

Being an adapt witch, Kylee had many kinds of magic she could learn, though she'd only ever immersed herself in the study of three specific kinds of magic. Body Transfigure. Elementality, specifically earthen based control. And her most prideful ability. Illusionry, which had saved her live more times then she cared to admit.

As one of them charged her, her hand morphed into a long dagger, the blade was incredibly detailed with floral designs, given the third of a second it'd taken to construct itself. The two blades collided and as the soldier leaned weight onto the blade, another was aimed for her stomach. Twisting her knife, the other fell to the ground and she rolled along the blade which then sliced the fabric of the dress, narrowly missing the bundle not however drawing blood. As she reached the middle of the blade, she threw her arm forward and her blade collided with the demon. She could her the individual sounds of his veins tareing, his spine shattering; until his head hit the ground with a thunk! His body following. By this time however,one of the two remaining soldiers had attempted to charge her, failing to see that it was un-accomplishable despite the corpses that littered the floor. He held a long fencer sword, much like her husband's, only cleaner, but his slight tremble gave away his inner terror.

Carefully sliding her metal lined fingers to her hair, she sliced off a single lock whilst still balancing the infant against her chest. Esme had been silent for the foremost of the battle, mainly terrified of the gruesome noises around her. Staring at the strands of hair, she looked up at the guard and suddenly hurled them forward.

The guard dropped to the ground dead as the now metal strands of hair stuck out from his eyes, neck and mouth. The other guard was shaking so violently, she thought he was reliving an earthquake or spasm attack. She walked towards him, stepping over the bodies and he clutched his spear to his chest tightly, his back soon colliding with a tree.

She stopped a metre from him, she didn't say anything, but he did.

"P-Please!" His voice had taken on a tone of desperation and the spear dropped to the ground.

"I-I-I-I have a wife! And a child!" She looked up at him, her face was splattered with the many shades of blue, red and black blood that the different levelled demons once had and her eyes where steely.

His face was pleading her and as she moved her hand forward, she gently placed it on his chest. He looked up at her in foolish hope.

"I'm sorry"

She pulled her hand back quickly beside her head and as she did this, a large root sprung through the man's back, tarring apart his respiratory system before exploding in a spray of black blood through his chest. He looked at her in pain before the roots began to grow over his arm and shoulders, causing him to scream.

"But so do I"

He is pulled back suddenly into the tree and as the bark climbed over his skin, he desperately tried to break it with his head, the only part of his body that he could still move. As the bark covering his face hardened, a wooden face, contorted into one of agony stayed in the trunk.

She sighed before looking back at the corpses that covered the forest floor. Holding her hand up, she quickly turned it over and let it rise. It seemed the kind of gesture a teacher would give their student if they where telling them to rise from their seat.

As she did this, small green ivy shoots began to curl up from the ground, there vines curling over the bodies. After several more seconds, you could no longer see any of the blood drenched uniforms, rather a clearing of ivy covered mounts, though the ivy refused to show any hint of colour other then green. As she lowered her hand, the ivy began to sink into the ground, bringing the dead demons with it, and as soon as the ground was once again soft green grass and small flowers began to sprout from the ground.

"Disgusting" A voice suddenly made itself heard from behind her and she spun around.

Which was the wrong move.

As she turned, the one whom spoke, threw himself at her using the tree he'd been perched on. She could feel the vibrations as her skin tore, her internal organs burst and her vertebrae snapped.

She was frozen, trembles raked her numbing body as she slowly looked down, her eyes landed on the boy whose arm was sticking straight through her torso.

He shared some of his mothers looks, with an angular, handsome face and long black hair that swept his forehead but the fury and disgust that burned behind his ruby irises was all him.

He yanked his arm back suddenly and in that swift moment, she was thrown like a limp rag doll against a nearby tree. The sound of her remaining vertebrae cracking out of place echoed around the clearing and the woman whimpered as she slid down, unable to move. Despite her circumstances though, she still held a grip on the fabric, it was loose, it was weak, it was completely un-protected.

But it was still there.

Blood filled the back of her throat and she spat the blood from her mouth in an attempt to stop herself from choking.

Now further away, she could see the teenage half-breed more clearly, despite the foggy glaze covering her eyes.

He was slender, but there was still noticeable muscle along his broad shoulders. Blood now soaked the plaid long-sleeved shirt that he wore, the darker liquid prominent on the light grey fabric. A pair of black converse and tattered black skinny jeans, both of which where also covered in blood.

Glancing down at the woman, he scoffed before walking towards her and squatting down to her level. Her eyes narrowed when the single figure turned into several as she continued to lose blood but she could still see him advancing. The vampire's eyes widen slightly when the mage slowly moved her wrists and pulled the bundle closer to her.

Smirking, he grabbed her wrists and she looked up at him, but what surprised him was what he saw clouding her pupils.

Amusement.

There is a sickening crack as both her wrists are snapped and in a hurry, the boy grabbed the bundle and stood up, walking away from the woman.

Using one arm to hold it, he ripped the fabric away, revealing the small wooden doll beneath.

"Where is it?"

He'd been so focused on the witch, on killing her and then killing the baby that he hadn't noticed the lone, single heartbeat in the area.

He was shaking with rage and she let out a weak chuckle despite her current disadvantage.

"It doesn't... matter" Her voice was slurred and sounded half submerged in water. She flinched slightly as the wooden doll is ditched at the trunk of the tree she'd been lying under, smashing on impact and covering her in wood chips. Her eyelids dropped dangerously as she was lifted by the throat and crushed into the tree, one hand around her throat, the other held a piece of splintered wood that was positioned near her pierced torso.

"Where is it?" She smiled at him and the wood danced along the edge of her flesh, causing her to whimper.

"Safe, he was never in harms way, you incompetent little blood thief" She followed this by building up the blood in her mouth and spitting it at him. He growled and jabbed the wood into the exposed flesh, causing her to scream.

As he slowly twisted it, moving it around, her screams grew weaker, until she just fell onto him, unable to hold her weight. He pushed her off, his shirt now completely stained with red and she hit the ground with a surprisingly soft landing.

"KYLEE!" A thundering shout rattled the forest and the boy barely had time to react before he was grabbed from behind the neck and ditched halfway across the clearing, his back colliding with a tree.

Hellfire was now frantically trying to keep his wife alive, gold laced tears ran down his cheeks. His clothes where soaked in dark blue blood, long scratches ran down his back and there was a small gash on his knee.

"Come on! Come on Ky, please KYLEE STAY WITH ME!" He leaned over her and ran his hand through her hair, by this time he was pleading for her to wake up.

A sudden cough caused the vampire, whom was now holding his left shoulder to keep it in place, to freeze.

HOW was that witch still _alive?_

"Kylee it's ok, your gonna be fine, w-we'll get you to some healers a-a-and we could-"

"Nathaniel..." She smiled, though her irises weren't seeable due to her half shut eyelids and long eyelashes; she still seemed to hold an air of brightness around them. "He's safe"

And she was gone.

She went completely limp and Nathaniel slowly lowered the hand he was holding, only to lift her up yet again, bridal style.

He turned slowly to the onlooker whom was looking at them in amusement.

"Pathetic"

The man's expression darkened and the younger demon could see his fingers getting darker in colour, he was expecting a fight, so when the colour faded, he was more or less surprised.

"It's not what she'd want" Standing up straighter, he turned around and began to walk towards the river, the silence now letting the sound of rushing water reach his ears.

"Come back and fight me!" The vampire snarled, his voice laced with venom. Hellfire turned back to him.

"The only reason you bet my wife was because she was weakened, you fought cowardly and she had something to protect" The vampire let the words sink in whilst at the same time his anger grew at the insult.

"She is as evenly matched as I. Know this boy. If I fought you now; I would kill you"

He turned back around; "But you shouldn't worry over that, rather you should be concerned with whom was supposed to be stopping me"

His eyes widened. "Mother..."

"You're still a child Marshall, stop trying to be a man. It's not it's all cracked up to be"

And they both turned around, one to help his only family, the other to collect the only family he had left.

The Cosmic River was a beautiful thing to see, the water was said to represent time, never ending and forever protected by the guardian.

As Hellfire reached the river, he looked across to the figure on the other side before looking to the stepping stones that wove a path across the three metre wide river.

The stones in question where carved with hundreds of centimetre wide protection charms which glowed as he walked across.

Clutching his wife to his chest, he carefully stepped across the last step and glanced at the figure holding his daughter

She had taupe yellow hair that brushed her shoulders with lighter streaks running through her locks, she had wide feline-like eyes with a light shade of blue lining her thin iris, with thick eyelashes that lined her eyelids. She held the little girl to her chest tightly and wore a loose white sleeveless blouse and a pair of black skinny jeans, a small hole in the back of which let her long full tail move freely.

Two small ears perked up from her scalp as he landed on the ground next to her. Looking down, her ears dropped and she looked up to him, looking him straight in the eye, her face coated in empathy.

"I'm so sorry, I should've helped" He smiled down at the 12 year old before looking Esme, his breathe hitched slightly and he swallowed down the tears and pain. His daughter would live without a mother; and the realisation that Kylee was no longer alive kept hitting him with enough force to make his knees almost completely give way.

"Come on Cake, I'm tired" And the cat spirit walked silently behind the mourning father as they walked further into the protected forest, the child silently asleep and covered with the innocence that she knew the war would one day destroy.

So please tell me what you think, Reviews and favourites are adored! This will be an Adventure Time AU focused on my badass OC Esme and Marshall Lee in a couple years, please note this will be a bit gory. Just for some clearance on the grammar, Kylee called Esme a he in front of Marshall because him and his mother never saw Esme so they don't know if she's a boy or girl. She said that to throw them off. The chapters should hopefully be about 1500 words long and I'll update when I can...which may be a while knowing me. I will be writing in first person from now on.

Any questions feel free to ask, this will contain some Fiolee and the characters from the original Adventure Time.

~Bali~Lali


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